i thought hostel was bad....this was just brutal




DVD SPECS
Video: Anamorphic widescreen, 2.35:1
Audio: Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: English

Special Features:
-- Alternate Ending
-- Behind the Scenes Photos
-- Storyboard Sketches
-- Original Theatrical Trailer

FILM REVIEW
Tartan's Asia Extreme label has been resurrected, thanks to Palisades Media Group, and one of the first new releases on DVD is South Korean director Kim Jinwon's The Butcher. If you thought that films like Hostel and the entire Saw series - films largely seen as the progenitors of the current 'torture porn' trend in the horror genre - were full of gratuitous violence, you ain't seen nothing yet. At least those films had plots to go along with their gratuitous violence. The Butcher is basically 75 minutes of nothing but ultra-violence, held together by a promising concept that unfortunately goes nowhere new.

The whole premise of The Butcher is that it's presented as if it's a snuff film, with POV cameras mounted on the heads of the victims, and some cuts to the camera being manned by the film's "director". As the film opens, we see four people bound and gagged on the floor of an old slaughterhouse as two members of the "crew" discuss what they are about to film. From there, it's pure violence and gore, as two of the victims are quickly dispatched off-camera - we get to witness this from the perspective of the two remaining stars of the snuff film, a married couple. This is probably the best scene of the film, as it easily conveys the fear and shock of the victims through camera movements and the couple's panicked cries. Once the pig-masked killer enters the picture, though, it's all downhill. The "director" plays mind games with the husband, offering him the opportunity to go free if he can come up with an inventive way to murder his wife. Surely these mind games and other little things were meant by Kim to portray the depravity of not only the killers, but of the victims as well. You can see where Kim was going with this and The Butcher could have been an interesting statement on the times we live in, but come on, it's an extremely bloody and violent film that didn't need to be that extreme to convey its point.

It would seem that horror fiends and gorehounds would have plenty to revel in with The Butcher, and the effects are actually pretty well done for a film that was written, produced, edited, mixed, and directed by the same person. The lighting is appropriately dark and gloomy, and the color palette is mostly shades of gray with a lot of red, making the blood stand out more on the screen. But in reality, it's difficult to understand why The Butcher was billed as being too brutal and shocking to be released in its own country. There really isn't anything more shocking than the aforementioned Hostel and Saw. Perhaps it's the nature of the film itself, with it being a supposed snuff film and all. But what puts it over the top is quite possibly the sound: chainsaws buzzing in the other room, the 'squelch' of an eyeball being popped out of its socket, and especially the fear and panic heard in the cries of the victims. The acting was actually rather impressive, at least by the victims. But when there's no story or character development to go along with it, the film falls flat.

DISC REVIEW
The DVD is presented in a well-done 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with competent Dolby 2.0 Stereo sound. As far as special features are concerned, there's really not much of worth:
There's an Alternate Ending that was better left out, as it would have been the only scene to not stick to the "snuff" concept. Besides that and the original theatrical trailer, though, all we get is a behind-the-scenes photo gallery and a montage of storyboard sketches that map out the entire film. Really nothing to write home about.

FINAL THOUGHTS
If you squint hard enough, you could kind of see where Kim Jinwon was headed with this idea, but the lack of any character development and any real semblance of a plot doesn't help. Sure, the concept of The Butcher means that there really can't be any character development or even much of a plot, and it's actually a decent film if you can recognize that, but most people will not be able to get past the ultra-violence to be able to see that point. Strictly for gorehounds, and possibly some art-house film buffs, but that's about it.

I don't find these films enjoyable. It's like eating a vindaloo. Yes, I can do it, but where's the enjoyment?

I'll stick to regular porn with dwarves and gas masks thank you....

mcmeekle said:

Can't vindaloo be made less spicy?

I've heard this film was along those lines too, though I haven't seen either:

i don't like any films like this! they are scary as hell!

ufoclub said:

I'm not a doctor, but they probably can. But usually they are hot-as-fuck as standard. I would just order a dish less spicy rather than de-spice a vindaloo.

mcmeekle said:

despiced vindaloo is for girls innit

That movie is on my Netflix instant queue.

FauxReal said:

I've seen that one. Horror elitists who rave constantly about Foreign horrors liked Martyrs a lot. I thought it was overrated.....but at least there was a plot. French horrors out now are usually full of gore, but they do have story lines. In Martyrs, the "torture" supposedly served a purpose (an experiment) unlike in Hostel where people were paying to get off on watching people bleed to death.

AnckSuNamun said:

that's where i watched it from.

i had never heard of it and the man in the pig mask didn't really make me interested in seeing it, but i googled the title and read how gross it was. it's not scary at all...but gooooor-eeeee. make sure you watch it with the sound waaay up and in surround sound. and of course it's subtitled

As long as it's not dubbed, I'm ok with subtitles. Dubbed audio kills the mood almost instantly. The pig mask is what made me interested in seeing it. LOL You know, Netflix must accept any movie, because some of those movies look like student films shot with a 90's hand held cam.

AnckSuNamun said:

i've ordered movies that seem interesting and after about 2 minutes turn that shit off and go on to the next movie---whatever you do don't order zombie wars i think i spent more money on my lunch than they did for the budget


a good one was "right at your door" about dirty bombs dropped in LA--- nice twist at the end
[Edited 2/28/10 20:11pm]

I can't watch snuff films (even fake ones). I never have seen one or know where to find them. I can't watch torture films. I can't even think about it, honestly. I remember ReturnofDook once posted a link to Iraqi Insurgents beheading American captives, and I couldn't bare to watch those.

I can handle blood, guts, gore, and I love suspense and horror--but what I can't handle is seeing someone tortured. Tied up against their will and broken down. I'm not sure why I make the distinction as isn't the process of dying by somebody else's hands more or less torture?



I once say a movie sponsored by Amnesty International starring Alan Rickman (isn't he Professor Snape? ) and Madeline Stowe called "Closetland" and it disturbed me for weeks. And there wasn't even any gore in the movie.

TheVoid said:

i watched a couple of those executions...i'm not proud that i did, but i watched out of morbid curiousity.

Fury said:

I just can't bring myself to watch it.
I saw a screen shot of Nick Berg's head on some website (after the deed had already been done). Considering he was 19 years old (I think), and he met his fate in such a manor, I can only say it would be many times more horrifying to me than watching some silly ghost story on T.V.


I have watched Hyennas do all manor of nasty things hunting other animals on youtube.

I'm fascinated by the way they kill, eating their pray while it's still alive (hyennas kill their pray by eating it--not strangling or breaking their necks). Just disgusting....but I kept watching.

Enough about that. I'm gonna masturbate to your avatar now.

TheVoid said:

executions, hyenas and masturbation all in one post

Fury said:

Oh, the really cheap looking movies are streamed. lol I don't wanna waste a hard copy on a lemon. lol.

FauxReal said:

I liked Martyrs very much. Bizarre but good.

johnart said:

I just watched it, been wanting to for a while. OH MY GOD. Fuck France.
SPOILER, Highlight to read
I don't get it at ALL. I can't believe they skinned that bitch alive. What the fuck for? WHAT THE FUCK FOR??? Why did those mother fuckers have an underground s&m death museum in their basement? It was just too much going on in this shit for me to understand. I thought it was gonna be some kind of revenge flick. That's what I get for thinking shit. I'll never do that again.

ScarletScandal said:

Highlight:
It was a cult. They were trying to get the victims to achieve/reach a state of ecstasy.

Fury said:

you would, you big-dicked sadist

johnart said:

Highlight:
BY TORTURING THEM??? If they were a cult, I sure couldn't tell. That movie had too many directions for me to follow. I thought the whole thing was gonna be about Lucy getting her revenge and what not. She kills the people, then that dead imagination bitch that had her cutting herself, then she kills herself, then those people come out of nowhere, WHICH I thought were the cops, silly me. And then they start torturing poor Anna. That shit was unbearable to me. It makes NO FUCKING SENSE. Torturing people to make them feel ecstasy. No wonder everybody hates the French, because of bullshit like this. I want my hour and a half back.

ScarletScandal said:

STOP IT IMMA PEEEEE!

Highlight:

Not ecstasy like OOOH YEAH THAT'S SOME GOOD SHIT KEEP SUCKIN THAT DICK ecstasy...Religious type.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...us_ecstasy

I LOVE French horror films.

johnart said:

Religous Ecstasy...that is some brand new 2010 shit for my ass. The French can keep all that. I ain't ready for it. The movie just makes no sense to me. I don't even want to think about it. What the fuck was that shit Lucy was imagining? Was is supposed to be some mental manifestation of some sort? What the fuck was that thing? Watching that shit was just like staring at a rubic's cube.

You mean you ain't gonna go see this with me?

From Wiki:
Pascal Laugier has confirmed in an interview that he is currently in the middle of negotiating the rights for Martyrs to be remade in America.

ScarletScandal said:

It is definitely not for everyone. I think it's either your thing or it isn't, not a lot of middle ground. I just read how someone called it the most divisive movie when it played Cannes.
[Edited 2/28/10 23:16pm]

ZombieKitten said:

They can have korma.

Actually The Wife is a fiend for chillies. I offer her mine usually because I don't want to leave a wee pile of them at the end. Looks a bit, well. you know....

mcmeekle said:

girly?

johnart said:

As if the French version wasn't horrible enough, now there's gonna be a shitty, watered down American remake. Enough with the eye rape.

ScarletScandal said:

Spoiler:









It was the image of the lady at the beginning that Lucy saw chained up when she escaped. She paused like she was gonna go back and save her, but didn't. The woman's image haunted her her whole life.